Amid another round of tinkering by the AFL rule-makers, the author finds he can no longer deny his optimism that his beloved Fremantle will win their first flag.
He dared to dream and now the author can slumber easily as his beloved Fremantle FC contests the AFL finals, in a season where every top eight team is a realistic chance for the flag.
A Fremantle Dockers hero for many seasons, dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe is proof that no matter how godlike some athletes may appear, they are all mortal.
The turmoil over the stadium that threatens to topple the Tasmanian government has its origins in the high-handed and ill-considered demands of the AFL.
As Fremantle’s AFL season lurches from shattering losses to promise and potential, diehard fans know to ignore the hype, hope for the best and always – always – prepare for the worst.
Taking his daughter to her first live sporting event was, for the author and his young charge, a moment of both anxious anticipation and wondrous novelty.
Once greats of the game, today’s AFL pundits are quick to forget their own youthful indiscretions as they hypocritically pile criticism at the feet of precocious rising stars.
Another year, another AFL season and another chance for the author to pray the curse that damns his Fremantle Dockers to only middling success will finally be expunged.
When sporting superstars retire, it is usually accompanied by a grand event or gesture in their honour, something Richmond’s Dustin Martin had no interest in when he gave the game away.
Concussion studies by Australia’s top football codes have stalled amid scientific controversy over the causes of neurodegenerative diseases in players.
